广阔的光线

广阔的光线

影像来源:X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/STScI, Palomar Observatory, DSS; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA; H-Alpha: LCO/IMACS/MMTF NASA及其国际合作伙伴最近发射的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜(韦伯)和X射线成像偏振探测仪(IXPE)极好地提醒人们,宇宙以多种不同的形式发射光或能量。为了全面研究宇宙物体和现象,科学家需要能够探测整个电磁波谱的望远镜。 这个画廊提供了一些例子,展示了来自地面和太空中的望远镜的不同类型的光的组合方式。这些选择的共同点是来自NASA钱德拉X射线天文台的数据,说明X射线(由非常热和高能的过程发出)是如何在整个宇宙中被发现的。 宝瓶座R 这个天体实际上是一对恒星:一颗在相对低温下稳定燃烧的白矮星和一颗高度可变的红巨星。当它们相互环绕时,白矮星将红巨星的物质拉到它的表面。随着时间的推移,这些物质积累到一定程度,就会引发爆炸。天文学家在最近几十年里已经看到过这样的爆发。从NASA哈勃太空望远镜观察到的壮观结构(红色和蓝色)中,可以看到更早的爆发证据。来自钱德拉的X射线数据(紫色)显示了来自白矮星的喷流是如何撞击它周围的物质并产生冲击波,类似于超音速飞机的音爆。 仙后座A 钱德拉对仙后座A超新星遗迹的观测表明,爆炸恒星中的单个元素是如何被抛入太空的。在这张照片中,X射线显示元素硅(红色)、硫(黄色)、钙(绿色)和铁(浅紫色)。遗迹边缘的蓝色显示了爆炸向外传播时产生的冲击波。这张图片还添加了一层来自美国国家科学基金会卡尔·央斯基甚大天线阵(深紫色、蓝色和白色)的仙后座A的无线电数据,以及一张来自哈勃望远镜(橙色)的光学图像。与X射线一样,无线电波可以穿透位于地球和仙后座A之间的厚厚的气体和尘埃云,提供关于这个著名恒星爆炸的额外信息。 吉他星云 在过去十年左右的时间里,天文学家们一直对高速移动的脉冲星(也就是旋转的中子星)的一些X射线喷流的排列感到困惑,这些喷流以奇怪的、意想不到的角度射向星际空间。这就是天文学家通过PSR B2224+65观测到的,PSR B2224+65是一颗脉冲星,因其在光学光(蓝色)下的形状而被称为“吉他星云”。钱德拉捕捉到的X射线流(粉红色)几乎垂直于吉他状结构,源自脉冲星的磁极。 阿贝尔2597 星系团是宇宙中由引力维系的最大结构,是包含单个星系、大量热气体和暗物质的动态环境。通常情况下,星系团中心的巨大黑洞可以帮助推动其行为。在阿贝尔2597星系团中,一个巨大的中央超大质量黑洞正在向外推动气体,并在其中产生气泡或空洞。这张阿贝尔2597的合成图像合成图像包括来自钱德拉的X射线(蓝色),来自数字化巡天(橙色)的光学数据,以及来自智利拉斯坎帕纳斯天文台的光学光中氢原子的发射(红色)。 NGC 4490 当两个星系在合并的过程中,引力的相互作用会触发恒星形成波。NGC 4490就是这种情况,这是一个螺旋星系,它与右上方一个较小的星系相撞,但在这张图片中没有看到。科学家们认为,这两个星系已经有了最亲密的接触,现在正在彼此分离。一些点状的X射线源代表星系内的恒星质量黑洞和中子星。在这张NGC 4490的图像中,钱德拉的X射线(紫色)与哈勃的光学图像(红色、绿色和蓝色)相结合。 NASA的马歇尔太空飞行中心管理钱德拉计划。史密森天体物理天文台的钱德拉X射线中心在马萨诸塞州的剑桥控制科学运作,并在马萨诸塞州的伯灵顿控制飞行运作。 阅读更多来自NASA德拉X射线天文台的信息。 如欲了解更多钱德拉图片、多媒体和相关资料,请访问: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra 参考来源: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/an-expanse-of-light.html

反射的星光

反射的星光

This Hubble Space Telescope image captures a portion of the reflection nebula IC 2631, which contains a protostar, the hot, dense core of a forming star that is accumulating gas and dust. Eventually, the protostar may gravitationally gather enough matter to begin nuclear fusion and emit its own energy and starlight. 这张哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的图像捕捉到了反射星云IC2631的一部分,其中包含一颗原恒星,即正在积聚气体和尘埃的正在形成的恒星的炽热致密核心。最终,原恒星可能会在引力作用下聚集足够的物质,开始核聚变,并释放出自身的能量和星光。 Reflection nebulae are clouds of gas and dust that reflect the light from nearby stars. The starlight scatters through the gas and dust like a flashlight beam shining on mist in the dark and illuminates it. Because of the way light scatters when it hits the fine dust of the interstellar medium, these nebulae are often bluish in color. 反射星云是由气体和尘埃组成的云团,能够反射来自附近恒星的光。星光在气体和尘埃中散射,就像手电筒的光束照射在黑暗中照亮了薄雾一样。由于光线在接触到星际介质中的细尘埃时的散射方式,这些星云通常呈蓝色。 Hubble observed this nebula while looking for disks of gas and dust around…

观测暗星云

观测暗星云

This stunning image captures a small region on the edge of the inky Coalsack Nebula, or Caldwell 99. Caldwell 99 is a dark nebula — a dense cloud of interstellar dust that completely blocks out visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it. The object at the center of the image is a (much smaller) protoplanetary nebula. The protoplanetary nebula phase is a late stage in the life of a star in which it has ejected a shell of hydrogen gas and is quickly heating up. This stage only lasts for a few thousand years before the protoplanetary nebula’s central star reaches roughly 30,000 Kelvin. At this point, the central star is producing enough energy to make its surrounding shell of gas glow, becoming what’s…

鹰状星云、欧米茄星云、三裂星云和泻湖星云:四大著名星云

鹰状星云、欧米茄星云、三裂星云和泻湖星云:四大著名星云

Nebula [ neb-yuh-luh ]: star-forming cloud of gas and dust. Noun, plural neb·u·lae [neb-yuh-lee, -lahy] 星云:由气体和尘埃组成的恒星形成云。名词,复数neb·u·lae [neb-yuh-lee, -lahy] These four nebulae are known for their breathtaking beauty: the Eagle Nebula (which contains the Pillars of Creation), the Omega Nebula, the Trifid Nebula, and the Lagoon Nebula. In the 1950s, a team of astronomers made rough distance measurements to some of the stars in these nebulae and were able to infer the existence of the Sagittarius Arm. Their work provided some of the first evidence of our galaxy’s spiral structure. In a new study, astronomers have shown that these nebulae are part of a substructure within the arm that is angled differently from the rest of the arm. 这四个星云以其令人叹为观止的美丽而闻名:鹰状星云(包含创世之柱)、欧米茄星云、三裂星云和泻湖星云。20世纪50年代,一组天文学家对这些星云中的一些恒星进行了粗略的距离测量,从而能够推断出人马座臂的存在。他们的工作为我们银河系的螺旋结构提供了首批证据。在一项新的研究中,天文学家已经表明,这些星云是旋臂内一个亚结构的一部分,该亚结构的角度与旋臂的其余部分不同。 A key property of spiral arms is…

哈勃的行星状星云视图揭示了复杂的结构

哈勃的行星状星云视图揭示了复杂的结构

NGC 6891 is a bright, asymmetrical planetary nebula in the constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. This Hubble image reveals a wealth of structure, including a spherical outer halo that is expanding faster than the inner nebula, and at least two ellipsoidal shells that are orientated differently. The image also reveals filaments and knots in the nebula’s interior, surrounding the central white dwarf star. From their motions, astronomers estimate that one of the shells is 4,800 years old while the outer halo is some 28,000 years old, indicating a series of outbursts from the dying star at different times. NGC 6891是一个明亮的、不对称的行星状星云,位于海豚座。这张哈勃图像揭示了丰富的结构,包括一个比内星云膨胀得更快的球形外晕,以及至少两个方向不同的椭球壳。这张照片还揭示了星云内部围绕中央白矮星的丝状和结状结构。根据他们的运动,天文学家估计其中一个椭球壳有4,800年的历史,而外晕大约有28,000年的历史,这表明垂死的恒星在不同的时间发生了一系列的爆发。 Hubble studied NGC 6891 as part of efforts to gauge the distances to nebulae, and to learn more about how their structures formed and evolved. NGC…

哈勃见证了奔跑者星云中气体碰撞的冲击波

哈勃见证了奔跑者星云中气体碰撞的冲击波

Mounded, luminous clouds of gas and dust glow in this Hubble image of a Herbig-Haro object known as HH 45. Herbig-Haro objects are a rarely seen type of nebula that occurs when hot gas ejected by a newborn star collides with the gas and dust around it at hundreds of miles per second, creating bright shock waves. In this image, blue indicates ionized oxygen (O II) and purple shows ionized magnesium (Mg II). Researchers were particularly interested in these elements because they can be used to identify shocks and ionization fronts. 在这张哈勃拍摄的名为HH 45的赫比格-哈罗天体图像中,堆积的、发光的气体和尘埃云闪闪发光。赫比格-哈罗天体是一种罕见的星云,当新生恒星喷出的热气体以每秒数百英里的速度与周围的气体和尘埃碰撞,产生明亮的冲击波。在这张图片中,蓝色表示电离的氧(O II),紫色表示电离的镁(Mg II)。研究人员对这些元素特别感兴趣,因为它们可以用来识别冲击波和电离锋线。 This object is located in the nebula NGC 1977, which itself is part of a complex of three nebulae called The Running Man. NGC 1977 – like its companions NGC…

哈勃发现火焰星云中的尘埃漩涡

哈勃发现火焰星云中的尘埃漩涡

The Flame Nebula, also called NGC 2024, is a large star-forming region in the constellation Orion that lies about 1,400 light-years from Earth. It’s a portion of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which includes such famous nebulae as the Horsehead Nebula and Orion Nebula. This image focuses on the dark, dusty heart of the nebula, where a star cluster resides, mostly hidden from view. Nearby (but not visible in this image) is the bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion. Radiation from Alnitak ionizes the Flame Nebula’s hydrogen gas. As the gas begins to cool from its higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it emits energy in the form of light, causing the visible glow behind the swirled wisps of dust….

哈勃望远镜在IC2631中发现新形成的恒星

哈勃望远镜在IC2631中发现新形成的恒星

Stars are born from clouds of gas and dust that collapse under their own gravitational attraction. As the cloud collapses, a dense, hot core forms and begins gathering dust and gas, creating an object called a “protostar.” 恒星是由气体云和尘埃在自身引力作用下坍缩而形成。随着云团坍缩,会形成一个致密、炽热的核心,并开始聚集尘埃和气体,形成一个称为“原恒星”的物体。 This Hubble infrared image captures a protostar designated J1672835.29-763111.64 in the reflection nebula IC 2631, part of the Chamaeleon star-forming region in the southern constellation Chamaeleon. Protostars shine with the heat energy released by clouds contracting around them and the accumulation of material from the nearby gas and dust. Eventually enough material collects, and the core of a protostar becomes hot and dense enough for nuclear fusion to begin, and the transformation into a star is complete. The leftover gas and dust can become planets, asteroids, comets,…

哈勃拍摄到被朦胧光环环绕的彩色行星星云

哈勃拍摄到被朦胧光环环绕的彩色行星星云

NGC 2438 is a planetary nebula, formed after the death of a Sun-like star. The medium-sized star would have expelled its outer layers of gas into space as it died, leaving behind a white-dwarf core. A halo of glowing gas over 4.5 light-years across surrounds the nebula’s brighter inner ring. Many round or nearly round planetary nebulae display these halo structures, and astronomers have been investigating how they evolve. NGC 2438 was one of the nebulae studied, and researchers found that the nebula’s halo glows due to the ionizing radiation of the central white dwarf. NGC 2438是一个行星状星云,是一颗类太阳的恒星死亡后形成。这颗中等大小的恒星在死亡时将外层气体喷射到太空中,留下一个白矮星内核。一个直径超过4.5光年的发光气体光环围绕着星云较亮的内环。许多圆形或接近圆形的行星状星云都显示出这种光环结构,天文学家一直在研究它们是如何演化的。NGC 2438是被研究的星云之一,研究人员发现这个星云的光环由于中央白矮星的电离辐射而发光。 In this color-filled image, blue represents oxygen (O III), green is hydrogen (H-alpha), orange is nitrogen (N II), and red is sulfur (S II). 在这张充满色彩的图片中,蓝色代表氧(O III),绿色代表氢(H-α),橙色代表氮(N II),红色代表硫(S…

在哈勃新拍摄的图像中,有一团“超级气泡”掏空了星云

在哈勃新拍摄的图像中,有一团“超级气泡”掏空了星云

N44是一个复杂的星云,充满了发光的氢气、黑暗的尘埃带、大质量恒星和许多不同年龄的恒星群。然而,它最显着的特征之一是被称为“超级气泡”的黑暗星空间隙,在这张哈勃太空望远镜图像中上部中央区域可见。 这个黑洞大约有250光年宽,它的存在仍然是一个谜。气泡内部的大质量恒星喷出的恒星风可能赶走了气体,但这与测量到的气泡中的风速不一致。另一种可能性是,由于星云中充满了大质量恒星,这些恒星会在巨大的爆炸中消亡,古老超新星不断膨胀的外壳塑造了宇宙洞穴。 天文学家在超级气泡附近发现了一颗超新星遗迹,并确定超级气泡内部和边缘的恒星之间存在大约 500 万年的年龄差异,表明存在多个连锁反应的恒星形成事件。超级气泡周围大约 5 点钟方向的深蓝色区域是星云中最热的区域之一,也是恒星形成最强烈的区域。 N44是一个发射星云,这意味着它的气体被附近恒星的辐射激发或电离。当电离气体开始从高能状态冷却到低能状态时,它就会以光的形式发射出能量,导致星云发光。N44位于大麦哲伦星云,跨度约1000光年,距离地球约17万光年。 影像来源:NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; 影像处理: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) 发布日期: 2021年11月2日 下载选项: 下载全尺寸图片 – (5MB JPEG) 下载大尺寸图片 – (1MB JPEG) 下载屏幕图片 – 1920×1080 (3MB JPEG)